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Department of Music Celebrates Steinway Day

Contact: Mike Greife
WARRENSBURG -
09/18/2007 -
Internationally renowned pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi will be the featured artist as UCM's Department of Music and the UCM Friends of Music Society celebrate Steinway Day Monday, Sept. 24.

Presentation by Steinway and Sons

Antonio Pompa-Baldi,
Steinway Concert Artist

Pompa-Baldi will be the featured Steinway Concert Artist at a 7:30 p.m. concert in Hart Recital Hall. Prior to the performance, officials from Steinway and Sons Pianos, New York, will make a formal presentation of the plaque designating UCM as an all-Steinway School.

Will Instruct Master Class

Pompa-Baldi also will instruct a master class to UCM piano students from 10:30 a.m.-noon in Hart Recital Hall. The public is invited to attend at no charge. He also will be listening to performances by three students, followed by questions from the audience about life as a concert pianist.

Extensive International Career

Born and raised in Foggia, Italy, Pompa-Baldi came to the United States in 1999 to participate in the Cleveland International Piano Competition. He earned a silver medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, as well as an award for the best performance of a new work.
Pompa-Baldi has toured extensively on four continents, including his recent debut in Beijing, China. He also has made acclaimed orchestral and solo debuts at Carnegie Hall and has appeared with a multitude of major symphonies throughout the United States and in Japan and New Zealand. He has worked with major conductors, and he has been a frequent guest at chamber music events.

All-Steinway School Designation

UCM's status as an all-Steinway School was announced in December 2006 following the purchase of 22 new Steinway and Boston pianos for the Department of Music. One of only 72 colleges, universities and conservatories worldwide to earn the designation, UCM also was the first all-Steinway School in Kansas and Missouri.

The acquisition included 11studio pianos for rehearsal rooms and 11 grand pianos of varying sizes, including a second 9-foot grand piano for the Hart Recital Hall in UCM's Utt Building. The acquisition of the second 9-foot Steinway grand piano gives performers and accompanists a choice of instruments, as well as offering the opportunity for two pianists to perform in duet.

Longtime Departmental Goal

Earning the designation has been a longtime goal for the department and the former College of Arts and Sciences. The first step toward that goal was taken with the initial acquisition in January 2006 of 26 Boston pianos for rehearsal rooms. The Boston piano is distributed by Steinway. Steinway crafts approximately 5,000 pianos per year worldwide, taking one full year to handcraft each piano at the Steinway factory in Long Island City, NY.

"Far beyond the immediate event, I am pleased that we have matched the quality of our whole program with an unwavering standard of excellence," said Lester Brothers, chair of the UCM Department of Music with regard to the all-Steinway School designation. "It challenges each of us to aim uncompromisingly for the highest achievement of which we are capable."

Tickets Available Now

Tickets for the concert are available on the UCM Friends of Music Society web site, www.ucmo.edu/fom, or by calling the Friends of Music box office at 660-543-4045.